In 1941, as war raged in Europe and the Pacific, British prime minister Winston Churchill traveled to Washington for meetings with President Franklin Roosevelt before continuing on to Ottawa, where he delivered a rousing speech before the Canadian Parliament on December 30. Canada’s prime minister, Mackenzie King—an early admirer of Yousuf Karsh’s work—arranged for Karsh to attend Churchill’s address and to be in position to photograph the British leader as he later passed through the Speaker’s Chamber. Surprised to discover that he was to be photographed, Churchill grudgingly agreed to give Karsh two minutes for the shot but declined the photographer’s gentle entreaty to relinquish his freshly lit cigar. Undeterred, Karsh deftly removed the cigar from Churchill’s mouth and quickly made his exposure as Britain’s “roaring lion” glowered at the camera. The resulting image—one of the 20th century’s most iconic portraits—effectively launched Karsh’s international career.

In 1963, Churchill became the first foreign national to be granted honorary U.S. citizenship by the U.S. Congress. Read the full story of Karsh's portrait session with Churchill on our Around the Mall blog. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery.*)

In 1954, when Ernest Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in Literature, the committee cited his “mastery of the art of modern narration.” In fact, through his short stories and such novels as *The Sun Also Rises* (1926) and *For Whom the Bell Tolls* (1940), Hemingway had, with his terse, powerful prose, in large measure invented a new literary style as he chronicled the disillusionment of the post–World War I “lost generation.” Hemingway’s own experiences—reporting foreign wars, living the bohemian life in Paris, and adventuring in Africa, Spain, and Cuba—fueled his imagination and helped foster his larger-than-life public persona.

When Karsh traveled to Cuba in 1957 to photograph Hemingway, he “expected to meet in the author a composite of the heroes of his novels.” Instead, the photographer recalled, “I found a man of peculiar gentleness, the shyest man I ever photographed—a man cruelly battered by life but seemingly invincible.” (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery.*)

A transformative force in the American labor movement, Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to the struggle to secure fair wages and decent working conditions for the nation’s agricultural workers. Chavez had toiled as a migrant in his youth and was well acquainted with the hardships endured by seasonal laborers—many of them Mexican or Mexican American—who followed the harvest on farms throughout California and the Southwest. In 1962, he partnered with activist Dolores Huerta to co-found the forerunner of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW)—the first successful farm workers’ union in the nation. In 1965 Chavez initiated a massive boycott of California grapes in a campaign that continued for five years and ended in victory when grape- growers agreed to accept unionized field workers.

Photographed at his headquarters in California, Chavez stands in a doorway bordered by Aztec eagles—the UFW’s symbol, which Chavez helped to design. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh.*)

Cartoonist Walt Disney created a sensation in 1928 when he introduced Mickey Mouse to moviegoers in *Steamboat Willie*, the first animated short film to feature synchronized sound. The overnight success of the plucky rodent (whose voice was supplied by Walt himself) laid the foundation for Disney’s subsequent ventures. Besides the Mickey Mouse cartoons that became a staple of movie houses, Disney produced such popular animated shorts as *The Three Little Pigs* (1933). Gambling that a full-length animated feature could succeed with audiences, he put all his resources into such a project. The result was the 1937 release of the groundbreaking *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*. Disney would eventually create a family entertainment empire that included live action as well as classic animated films, television, and the Disneyland and Disney World theme parks.

Advised that Disneyland was Walt Disney’s “most cherished project,” Karsh made a special trip to the recently opened theme park before photographing its creator. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh.*)

Yousuf Karsh (self portrait above) “set [his] heart on photographing those...who leave their mark on the world,” thus creating iconic portraits of many of the 20th century's most influential men and women. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh.*)

A luminous beauty whose film career spanned just six years (1951–56), Grace Kelly left an indelible legacy with her performances in eleven motion pictures, many of which remain Hollywood classics. After her 1951 film debut in a minor role, she received wide notice for her performance opposite Gary Cooper in *High Noon* (1952). A year later, Kelly garnered her first Academy Award nomination for her work in *Mogambo* (1953). In 1954 she starred in four major releases, including the Alfred Hitchcock thrillers *Dial M for Murder* and *Rear Window*, and the drama *The Country Girl*, for which she won the Best Actress Oscar. Kelly scored additional hits with *To Catch a Thief* (1955) and the musical *High Society* (1956) before ending her Hollywood career to marry Monaco’s Prince Rainier in April 1956.

When Grace Kelly posed for Karsh’s camera, she was recently engaged and about to begin her new life as Monaco’s Princess Grace. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh.*)

As the nation’s first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt rapidly expanded her role from hostess to advocate and emerged as a vital force in her husband Franklin’s administration. She took public stands on issues ranging from exploitative labor practices to civil rights, but more important, she often urged her husband toward measures he might otherwise have avoided. When the challenges of World War II drew the president’s attention from domestic affairs, she continued to be a strong voice for the New Deal’s social welfare policies. The activism that characterized Eleanor Roosevelt’s years as first lady did not end with her departure from the White House. As a U.S. delegate to the United Nations (1945–53), she was instrumental in formulating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and securing its ratification by the General Assembly in 1948.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s hands were seldom still, and Karsh captured their expressive qualities in this portrait. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh.*)

Harland Sanders perfected his signature fried chicken in 1939 while operating a gas station, motel, and roadside café in rural Corbin, Kentucky. Traditional fried chicken took as long as thirty minutes to cook, but Sanders discovered he could produce a juicy, flavorful product in as little as eight to nine minutes by using one of the newly introduced pressure cookers. His distinctive chicken remained the café’s principal attraction until 1956, when Sanders sold the business after learning that a new interstate highway would bypass Corbin by seven miles. Armed with pressure cookers and his secret blend of “eleven herbs and spices,” the sixty-six-year-old Sanders took to the road to build a franchise network for his unique “Kentucky Fried Chicken.” He met with phenomenal success. In 1964, when Sanders sold the majority of his holdings for $2 million, there were 900 Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the United States, Canada, England, and Japan. (Yousuf Karsh. *Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh.*)

From Colonel Sanders to Grace Kelly: Iconic American Portraits by Yousuf Karsh

The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition on Yousuf Karsh will display a rotating selection of Karsh portraits until November 4, 2014

smithsonian.com
November 19, 2013

During a career that spanned six decades, photographer Yousuf Karsh (1908–2002) created iconic portraits of many of the 20th century’s most influential men and women—individuals who distinguished themselves in fields as diverse as business, medicine, entertainment, politics, and the arts.

A refugee from persecution in his native Armenia, Karsh immigrated to Canada in 1925. His uncle, a professional photographer, facilitated Karsh’s apprenticeship with the renowned Boston portrait photographer John H. Garo in 1928. By the time Karsh returned to Canada, he had “set [his] heart on photographing those men and women who leave their mark on the world.” In May 1933, he opened his portrait studio in Ottawa.

Karsh developed his distinctive portrait style by drawing inspiration from a variety of sources. Introduced to stage lighting techniques through his association with the Ottawa Drama League, he experimented with artificial lighting to achieve the dramatic effects that became the hallmark of his portraiture. Believing that “the heart and mind are the true lens of the camera,” Karsh also developed a genuine rapport with his sitters and partnered with them to fashion portraits that were both revealing and respectful.

The phenomenal success of his 1941 portrait of Winston Churchill served as the catalyst to Karsh’s career. Thereafter, he traveled the world fulfilling portrait commissions and editorial assignments. Karsh photographed countless international figures, but his images of Americans—from Albert Einstein to Martha Graham—are counted among his finest portraits.

In 2012, Estrellita Karsh presented 109 portraits by her husband, Yousuf Karsh, to the National Portrait Gallery. Highlights from this major gift are featured in a new exhibition at the museum.